Swing-out pivotal shelf for refrigerators



Dec.6, 1960 G. I. JOHNSON SWING-OUT PIVOTAL SHELF FOR REFRIGERATORSFiled Feb. 17, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 6, 1960 G- l. JOHNSON swmc-ouwpxvom. sum FOR REFRIGERATORS Filed Feb. 17, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2fnz/enl ar George fJ/znson -out in the appended claims.

United States Patent SWING-OUT rIvorAL SHELF FOR REFRIGERATORS George I.Johnson, Muskegon, Mich, assignor to Borg- Warner Corporation, Chicago,11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 715,681

4 Claims. (Cl. 211-147) This invention relates to adjustable shelfstructure and more particularly to shelf structure having provision forvertically adjusting the shelf and for pivotal movement of the shelf.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved verticallyadjustable pivotal shelf structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved shelfstructure having means providing for free pivotal movement of the shelfand controlling vertical adjustment of the shelf to any desiredposition.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved shelfstructure in which the shelf is pivotally movable about a shaft whilebeing maintained at a desired height on the shaft; the shelf structurehaving associated latch mechanism operable to lock the shelf to theshaft during vertical adjustment of the shelf.

' A further object of the invention is to provide an improved shelfstructure in which the shelf is normally rotatable about a threadedshaft and maintained at a desired height on the shaft by a supporthaving associated latch mechanism coupling the shelf to the shaft forvertical adjusting movement of the shelf upon rotation of the shaft.

A further object of the inventionis to provide improved verticallyadjustable pivotal shelf structures in which the shelves may be freelypivoted and may be selectively or concurrently vertically adjusted todesired heights.

Other objects, aims, and advantages of the improvements contemplatedherein will be apparent to persons skilled in the art after theconstruction and operation of the present shelf structure is understoodfrom the description. It is preferred to accomplish the numerous objectsand advantages of this invention, and to prac- .tice the improvement, insubstantially the manner herein- ;after fully described and as moreparticularly pointed Reference is now made to the accompanying drawingswhich form a part of the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a refrigerator cabinet illustrating apreferred embodiment of the shelf structure;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional View taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view, partially broken away, of the shelfstructure, said view being taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional View taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the shelf support andlatch mechanism of the shelf structure, said view being taken along theline 5-5 of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line 66 of Fig. 3.i

In Fig. 1, there is generally illustrated a refrigerator cabinetidentified as a whole by the numeral 10 and comprising a food storagecompartment 11, a door 12 pro- 2 and 3, a vertical threaded shaft 13 issupported within a recess 14 in the side wall of the compartment 11 bybrackets 15 and 16 disposed in the recess 14 and attached to the wall.The lower bracket 15 has a cylindrical bearing portion 17 receiving areduced end portion 18 on the lower end of the shaft and defining ashoulder 19 engaged with the upper surface of the bracket 15 forrotatably supporting the lower end of the shaft 13. The upper end of theshaft 13 extends through and is journalled in a bearing 20 of thebracket 16 with the upper end of the shaft being reduced to define ashoulder 21 engaging the bottom surface of the bearing 20 of the bracket16. The bracket 16 is further provided with an upstanding flange 22receiving a rotatable shaft 23 having fixed at one end thereof a mitergear 24 meshing with a miter gear 25 on the upper end portion of theshaft 13, the gears rotating the shaft by operation of a hand wheel 26fixed to the shaft 23.

A plurality of adjustable shelves generally indicated at 27 and 28 arepivotally supported on the shaft 13 and are also vertically adjustableon the shaft by operating mechanisms associated with the shelves andshaft 13. As the shelves 27 and 28 and their operating mechanisms areidentical, the shelf 27 and its operating mechanism will only bedescribed. As seen in Fig. 2, the shelf 27 comprises a substantiallyrectangular plate 29 having its edges positioned in close proximity tothe inner liner of the food storage compartment 11 with the exception ofthe side edge 39 of the shelf 29 which is formed arcuate in shape topermit the shelf to pivot about the shaft 13 without interference withthe liner of the food compartment.

The plate 29 is rem-ovably supported upon a spider 31 pivotallyconnected to the shaft 13. More particularly, the spider 31 is providedwith a collar surrounding the shaft and comprising a sleeve 32 extendingthrough a hollow inverted cup-shaped member or shell 33 formed integralwith the spider and welded to the sleeve 32 as at 34. The collar of thespider further comprises a ring 35 surrounding the shaft and insertedwithin the open lower end of the shell 33 and welded thereto as at 36.The upper end of the sleeve 32 is provided with a bearing 37 disposedbetween the sleeve 32 and the shaft 13 and fixed to the sleeve 32 formovement therewith relative to the shaft 13.

The spider 31 is pivotally supported on the shaft 13 by a cylindricalbearing ,38 surrounding and engaging the shaft 13 and having a reducedcylindrical upper end 38a engaging the sleeve 32 and ring 35 of thecollar and providing a shoulder 40 engaging the ring 35, the sleeve 32also having a shoulder 39 engaging the top of the sleeve 38. It will beseen that, as the shell 33 of the spider is welded to the sleeve 32 andthe ring 35, that these parts, forming the collar of the spider, permitthe spider to freely pivot about the supporting bearing sleeve 38.

Vertical adjustment of the spider, and thereby the shelf, may beobtained by the mechanism now to be de scribed. The sleeve 38 isprovided with an enlarged cylindrical cavity 41 receiving an adjustingdevice connecting the sleeve 38 with the threaded shaft 13 for verticalmovement of the sleeve 38. More specifically, this device comprises aplurality of balls 42 received within the spiral groove 43 in theexterior of the shaft 13 and defining the screw thread on the shaft, theballs being confined in the groove by a cylindrical sleeve or retainer44 having spaced openings 44a therein receiving the balls 42, the ballretainer being preferably formed of plastic, such as nylon. Acylindrical ball race 45 surrounds the retainer 44 and has its upper endengaging a peripheral flange 4415 on the retainer 44, the retainer 44and ball race 45 being retained in assembly with the sleeve 38 by a pin45 extending through aligned openings in the sleeve 38, the race 45, andthe retainer 44. As shown in Fig. 5, disposition of the balls 42 in thespiral groove in the shaft 13 and the openings in the retainer 44provides a connection between the shaft 13 and the sleeve 38 to supportthe spider upon the shaft 13.

To prevent pivotal movement of the sleeve 38 and also the balls 42 aboutthe shaft 13, the sleeve 38 is formed with a boss 46 (Figs. 4 andprojecting outwardly of the sleeve 38 and having a cylindrical opening47 receiving and rotatably mounting a pin 48, the pin hav ing a knurledend portion for a handle 49. The opposite end of the pin 48 projectsoutwardly of the boss 46 of the sleeve 38 into a substantiallytriangular recess 50 in the sleeve 38 located at one side of the bossand is connected to a latch member 51 having an outwardly projectingnose or key portion 52 at one side thereof extending through an opening38b in the sleeve 38 and into a longitudinally extending slot or keyway53 in the shaft 13 and interrupting the screw thread on the shaft, asclearly shown in Fig. 5. With the key portion 52 of the latch member 51extending within the keyway 53 in the shaft 13, it will be apparent thatthe sleeve 38 and the shaft 13 will be coupled together to preventrelative pivotal movement despite rotation of the shaft 13 by the mitergear arrangement disposed at the upper end of the shaft. As a result, inthe position of the parts shown in Figs. 4 and 5, rotation of the shaft13 will be ineffective to cause vertical movement of the sleeve 38through the medium of the balls 42 and, as the sleeve 38 and shaft 13are coupled together the shelf 29 and spider 31 may be freely movedabout the screw 13 without vertical movement of the tray and spider.

In the event it is desired to couple the spider 27 to the shaft 13 forvertical adjusting movement, the latch member 51 is provided with aradially extending coupling portion 54 disposed diametrically oppositethe key portion 52 so that, upon rotation of the member 51 by movementof the handle 49 to the raised dotted-line position (Fig. 5), thecoupling portion 54 will move through an opening 55 in the spider 31 andinto a slot or notch 56 formed in the ring 35 of the collar of thespider 31 to latch the collar to the sleeve 38. As the coupling portion54 moves into the slot 56 in the ring 35, it will be seen that the keyportion 52 will be moved out of the slot 53 in the shaft to permitrelative rotation of the sleeve 38 and the shaft 13. Accordingly, withthe coupling portion 54 disposed within the slot 56 of the ring 35, thespider 31 and the sleeve 38 are directly coupled together for verticaladjusting movement upon rotation of the hand wheel 26 and operation ofthe miter gear arrangement to rotate the shaft 13.

It will be apparent that, with the handle 49 in its horizontal position,rotation of the shaft 13 will move the balls 42 in the groove 43 in theshaft either upwardly or downwardly depending on the direction ofrotation of the hand wheel 26. As seen in Fig. 3, rotation of thehandwheel 26 in a clockwise direction will rotate the shaft 13 to eifectmovement of the balls v42. upwardly along the spiral groove 43 in theshaft 13 to raise the ball retainer 44 and the sleeve 38 to also effectupward movement of the sleeve 38 and thereby the spider 31 and plate 29to a desired height on the shaft 13. In the event it is desired tovertically adjust the spider 31 and plate 29 to a lower position on theshaft 13, rotation of the handwheel 26 in a counterclockwise directionwill rotate the shaft 13 to cause the balls 42 to move downwardly in thespiral groove 43 in the shaft 13 to thereby cause the sleeve 38, thespider 3 1 and plate 29 to be lowered until a predetermined desiredposition on the shaft 13 is reached. After the vertical adjustment ofthe shelf, the. handle 49 is rotated to its vertical position shown inthe drawings to disconnect the sleeve 38 from the ring 35 and to permitthe spider 31 to pivot freely about the shaft 13 while the key portion52 of the latch member 51; will be received within the slot 53 in theshaft 13 to prevent relative rotation between the sleeve 38 and theshaft 13 and thus maintain the spider 31 and plate 29 in the desiredposition.

It will be observed that each of the shelves 27 and 28 may beadjustedindependently over the other by properly positioning the handlesto permit vertical movement of the selected shelf while preventingsimilar movement of the other shelf upon rotation of the threaded shaft;or, both shelves may be concurrently vertically adjusted when thehandles are moved to their horizontal positions and the shaft rotated.

While this invention has been described in its preferred form orembodiment, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art, afterunderstanding the improve ments, the various changes and modifications,may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.It is aimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes andmodifications.

What is claimed is:

l. A vertically adjustable, pivotal shelf structure comprising arotatable vertical shaft having a spiral groove defining a screw threadon said shaft, and provided with a longitudinally extending keyway; anut assembly including balls positioned in said groove, and a retainerfor said balls; a sleeve surrounding said shaft and said retainer andsecured to said retainer; a pivotal shelf having a collar surroundingsaid shaft and seated on said sleeve; a member pivoted on said sleeveand having a key portion movable into said shaft keyway to preventrelative rotation of said sleeve and shaft, and having a couplingportion movable to connect said collar and sleeve for conjoint verticalmovement of said sleeve and collar by said ball assembly during rotationof said shaft; manually operative means for effecting pivotal movementof said member to connect said coupling portion thereof with said collarwhile retracting said key portion thereof from said shaft keyway; andmeans for rotating said shaft.

2. A vertically adjustable, pivotal shelf structure comprising arotatable vertical shaft having a spiral groove defining a screw threadon said shaft, and provided with a longitudinally extending keyway; anut assembly including a plurality of balls in said groove, and aretainer surrounding said shaft and having spaced openings receivingsaid balls; a sleeve surrounding said shaft and receiving said nutassembly and having said retainer secured thereto; a shelf having acollar surrounding said shaft and pivotally supported on said sleeve; alatch member pivotally mounted on said sleeve and having diametricallyoppositely laterally extending key and coupling portions, said keyportion being movable into said shaft keyway to prevent relativerotation of said sleeve and shaft and said coupling portion beingmovable to connect said sleeve and collar, pivotal movement of saidlatch member retracting said key portion thereof from said shaft keywayand moving said coupling portion thereof to connect said sleeve andcollar for conjoint movement of said sleeve and shelf vertically of saidshaft during rotation of said shaft and movement of said balls alongsaid groove in said shaft; and means for rotating said shaft.

3. A vertically adjustable, pivotal shelf structure comprising arotatable vertical shaft having a spiral groove defining a screw threadon said shaft, and provided with a longitudinally extending keyway; aplurality of balls in said groove; a retainer surrounding said shaft andhaving spaced openings receiving said balls; a sleeve surrounding saidshaft and having an enlarged bore at one end thereof for receiving saidretainer and balls; a pin extending radially of said shaft and throughaligned openings in said sleeve and retainer; a shelf having a collarsurrounding said shaft and pivotally supported on said sleeve, saidcollar having a slot in one edge thereof; a latch member pivotallymounted on said sleeve and having diametrically oppositely laterallyextending key and coupling portions, pivotal movement of said latch memher in one direction moving said key portion thereof into said shaftkeyway to prevent relative rotation of said sleeve and shaft and movingsaid coupling portion thereof from said slot in said collar, and pivotalmovement of said latch member in the other and opposite directionretracting said key portion thereof from said shaft keyway and movingsaid coupling portion thereof into said slot in said collar to connectsaid collar with said sleeve for conjoint vertical movement of saidsleeve and shelf on said shaft during rotation of said shaft andmovement of said balls along said groove in said shaft; and means forrotating said shaft.

4. A vertically adjustable, pivotal shelf structure comprising arotatable vertical shaft having a spiral groove defining a screw threadon said shaft, and provided with a longitudinally extending keyway; aplurality of balls in said groove; a retainer having spaced openingsreceiving said balls; a cylindrical ball race receiving said retainerand holding said balls in said groove and said retainer; a sleevesurrounding said shaft and having an enlarged bore at one end thereoffor receiving said balls, retainer and race; a pin extending radially ofsaid shaft and through aligned openings in said sleeve, race andretainer; a shelf having a collar surrounding said shaft and pivotallysupported on said sleeve, said collar having a slot in one edge thereof;a latch member pivotally mounted on said sleeve and having diametricallyoppositely laterally extending key and coupling portions, pivotalmovement of said latch member in one direction moving said key portionthereof into said shaft keyway to prevent relative rotation of saidsleeve and shaft and moving said coupling portion thereof from said slotin said collar, and pivotal movement of said latch member in the otherand opposite direction retracting said key portion thereof from saidshaft keyway and moving said coupling portion thereof into said slot insaid collar to connect said collar with said sleeve for conjointvertical movement of said sleeve and shelf on said shaft during rotationof said shaft and movement of said balls along said groove in saidshaft; and means for rotating said shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re.23,374 Ramsey June 5, 1951 699,889 Morsell May 13, 1902 1,270,350Watkins June 25, 1918 1,347,006 Boas July 20, 1920 2,531,925 Taylor Nov.28, 1950 2,813,635 Schumacher Nov. 19, 1957 2,836,305 Davey May 27, 1958

